September 12, 2009

Tilted Ovals

I completed Tilted Ovals last night, sewing the binding and hanging loops and signing my name with embroidery thread. I'm always surprised at the richness of color and texture that rug hooking provides. I see this piece as a pendant to Cascading Squares even though it is horizontal. They both have geometric forms shifting one over another with a background of graduated color. This creates a sense of movement in space as the oval or square closer to the background color sits back, while the stronger contrast pops forward. You can see that the edges of the ruglet are very irregular, certainly not the perfect rectangle. This sometimes happens when hooking different shapes, and I consider this lack of perfection inherent in the medium, and very appealing.

I photographed the back of this work, thinking you might be interested in seeing how it's finished. The loops of wool that show on the front, are flat against the linen support on the back.

About this Blog

When I wake up each morning, I look eastward towards the White Mountains, a grand view that continues to surprise this ex-New Yorker.The land, and the flora and fauna around me provide photographic inspiration, as do my gardens, which feed the body as well as the spirit. The subject matter of my paintings––agricultural implements––is very tied to this rural area; my paintings and drawings are all produced using egg tempera, an ancient medium. The textiles I make can also be seen as relating, in their hooking technique, to a small town craft. My prints use ordinary materials, even garden produce: potatoes.

But the paintings, drawings, and prints are strongly tied to modernism, in their form and color. They owe a great debt to abstraction of the 20th century, and I continue to find sustenance in the museums and galleries of New York City. Books and film also inspire thoughts that I wish to share. With this blog I hope to weave together all these various strands of my artistic life.

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I'm a native New Yorker––from the Flatbush area of Brooklyn––and now paint, make textiles and prints, and garden on an old hill farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. My works are in many public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Tate Gallery, London.